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Depending on the day that you go, Paramount's Kings Island may seem impossible to get through in one day. It may come as a surprise that it is very possible to ride every major attraction at PKI in one day.
First of all, you need to know what the best days to go to Kings Island are. In my experiences, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are the best days to go and be able to ride everything. These are the best days to go anytime during the summer.
Now, what do you do once you get to the park? First, if you've never been to the park before, make sure you pick up a map when you arrive. The best time to arrive at the park is about 8:45 a.m. The parking lot and main gates open at 9:00, so you will be able to get a good parking spot and avoid some of the crowds. As soon as you go through the gates you should immediately turn left and head towards the Paramount Action Zone. The path will probably be roped off not far from the main midway, so try to get close to the rope (rides and queue lines open at 10:00). While you are waiting for the ropes to be let down, try to familiarize yourself with the layout of the park by looking at your map. You will notice that the major rides, in essence form a complete circle, so that you don't have to backtrack at all. Now, the suggested order of rides...
First, walk briskly towards Face/Off. This has one of the lowest capacities of all of the rides at PKI. If you get in line for this early you will be able to avoid the line that will soon stretch to about one hour long. As soon as you get off of Face/Off head immediately for Drop Zone. This also has a very low capacity. Just as with Face/Off you will probably avoid a large line by riding this early, however you will probably have to wait up to 1/2 hour to ride this. Next head for Top Gun or Son Of Beast. Top Gun is almost always a walk-on ride all day long, so if you want to ride Son Of Beast prior to riding this it may not be a bad idea. If you chose to ride Top Gun first, ride Son Of Beast now, or if you rode Son Of Beast first, ride Top Gun now. Once you finish with these two, go to the King Cobra. You may have to wait a little while for this but on the busy days it is rarely more than a 1 hour wait. Once you finish in the Action Zone, head straight for the Coney Mall. The first ride you should ride as you approach Coney Mall is Adventure Express. This ride never has a line that exceeds 30-45 minutes, and is usually a walk-on ride. Next ride the Racer, both forwards and backwards, they are both fun and totally different experiences. Next in line will be the Outer Limits: Flight Of Fear, which is behind the Racer as you look at it from the Midway. The Vortex is next on the list and you won't have to wait long to ride this at all. They almost always run three trains and the capacity is so high that the line is almost non-existent. If you what to ride the Action F/X Theatre, you can do it either before or after the Vortex. Also during this you can ride on any of the flat rides (Bumper Cars, Scrambler, etc.) that are located in the Coney Mall. Now head over to Rivertown to ride the Beast. This line seldom reaches over 30 minutes and it is definitely worth any wait. Also in Rivertown are several wet rides, that will cool you off on the hottest day. You have now ridden all of the major attractions at PKI. You can take the train from Rivertown to go over to WaterWorks (included in admission) or just take a ride on the train.
Sometime during the day you might want to eat something, so I will suggest several places to eat and times to eat. First of all the best time to eat at PKI is around 11:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., 5:00 p.m. and anytime after 7:30 p.m. These are the times when you can avoid the crowds and get to eat quickly. The prices for food at PKI are rather steep in comparison to the quantity that you recieve so you may want to pack your lunch in a cooler and return to the car to eat (don't forget to get your hand stamped or you won't be able to get back in). If you do decide to eat in the park there are several places that you can get some good food. There are several cafeteria-style places to eat, Festhaus in the Paramount Action Zone, Wings Diner in Rivertown, and Stunt Crew lounge in the Paramount Action Zone. There is also a LaRosa's pizza place in Rivertown and on International Street (the main midway) and also in the Festhaus. There is a Skyline Chili place in the Coney Mall and a Skyline Chili Footlong Express in Rivertown, which sells footlong cheese coneys. Potato Works in Rivertown also has some good french fries and other food. Also the DX in the Coney Mall has some good food. Festhaus and Wings Diner are both air-conditioned which offers a nice break from the heat of a summer day. There are other restaurants that you will find but these might assist your decision. The summary of these:
Festhaus, Paramount Action Zone: Pizza, Burgers, Chicken Fingers, Soft Drinks, Beer, Dessert, etc.
Wings Diner, Rivertown: Ribs sandwichs, soft drinks (not sure about beer here), desserts, etc.
The DX, Coney Mall: Burgers, Fries, Soft Drinks, Milk Shakes, etc.
Skyline Chili, Coney Mall: Cincinnati-style chili, 3-ways, 4-ways, 5-ways, coneys, soft-drinks
Stunt Crew Lounge, Paramount Action Zone: burgers, fries, sub sandwiches, soft drinks, beer, etc.
Skyline Chili Footlong Express, Rivertown: Footlong Cheese coneys, fries, soft drinks, etc
LaRosa's, Rivertown: Pizza, soft drinks
Potato Works, Rivertown: Potato wedges, soft drinks
Hopefully this has helped you enjoy your day at Kings Island a little more, but if not, I'm sorry, maybe next time.